Above: Port-au-Prince (CJ Photo)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
The second round of USAID’s LEAD business competition has launched in Haiti.
The programme, which is implemented by the Pan American Development Foundation and funded by USAID, provides matching grants for business plans that are found to “best support the development of small and medium enterprises and increase employment in Haiti.”
The matching grants range from $50,000 to $200,000 for winners of the Business Plan Competition. Each grantee is required to provide a matching investment at least equal to the amount of the grant; prospective businesses must operate in either Cap-Haitien, Saint-Marc or Port-au-Prince.
Last year’s winners included SOGEPA, a cocoa producer, ECSSA, a recycling firm, Atelier Jourdain, a garment manufacturer and Castmi, a water production facility.